Permaculture
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw7mQZHfFVE

This is a part of the video that I was fortunate enough to see last night. If you're as hmmmmmm, lazy as I am, you may find this fascinating farming LOL. I was all excited about squarefoot gardening, but I think this one is even more fascinating. Given that there may be times that we can't go outside this summer, this may well be an answer.

If you live in the PNW, Holzer is doing a "THe Secrets of Eden Tour" - with lectures in Yelm, Rainier, and Onalaska, WA, and hands on work. You can find information at http://www.perma-dise.com
alys

The verbiage on the brochure says
Austrian Rebel Farmer Sepp Holzer has become famous beyond the German speaking world for his radical approach to farming. He has transformed his family farm in the coldest part of the Austrian Alps into an eco-paradise of terraces, ponds, hugelbeds and food forests. At an altitude of 5000 feet, he produces an abundance of fruit, vegetables, herbs, meat, fish and Mediterranean fruit in a self-sustaining landscape without irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers. Holzer achieves maximum economic success with minimal labor input, while providing optimum living conditions for humans, plants, and animals and restoring habitats of many endangered species. He serves as a consultant to a large number of projects all over the world, including Scotland, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Thailand, converting depleted soils back into agriculture croplands.

The principles of Sepp Holzer's Permaculture are simple and can be applied in any climate, by anyone, on any scale. These principles can empower anyone to develop a more sustainable life style and create their own highly productive eco-paradise, from the balcony garden to the family farm.

Re: Permaculture
 

I perked up when I saw "balcony garden" because I live in a condo!

What an inspirational video! :original:

"His experience is the only source of knowledge he trusts."

"The bigger the variety of plants, the fewer parasites there are, and the more stable the system."

Re: Permaculture
 

This is very inpiring and is what I am aiming for on my property. No straight lines and the idea of working with nature. Everything that comes up in the garden naturally is left where it is. The ideas of 'nature knows best' and 'does nature appove'. Keeping the whole area mulched as much as possible, keeps weeds at bay, conserves moisture and allows more worm activity. Mineralization is the fundamental though, as how soils have been mined and very little replaced. Calcium is the key. It is the major mineral that needs to be added, kept up. Feed the soil, and build the humas. Food grown with all the minerals and vitamins present, in your own garden, with your own hands (your vibration) feeds mind body and soul. Its nutrient dense, and full of life. Our brains are fed first. Without high nutrition, we are dumbed down. Hence the concerted efforts by the controllers to downgrade our food supply.

Love and Light

Carmen